5 Easy and Effective Ways to Instill Healthy Habits in Your Kids

Today, I have a guest post from Aradhana, a frequent contributor to momjunction.com. She is going to give some tips on how to instill healthy habits in your kids.

Do you remember who your first teacher was? What if I told you that the person who you think is your first teacher is not your first guide! The very first teacher that anyone has in their lives is their mother. Much before your toddler learns something within the confined walls of a day-care centre, you as a mother are his/her first teacher. Therefore, it’s imperative for you, as a responsible mother, to inculcate some healthy habits in your child. Here are five easy and effective habits that you can inculcate in your kid:

Family Time:

Children learn by watching. This could be manners, etiquettes, etc. Kids always try to emulate an elder who they are close to. If both your husband and you are a working couple, then partaking in a family breakfast will leave a lasting impression on your child’s mind. Also, this will ensure that the child is pepped up for the day. Children who are a part of a family routine tend to do much better in school.

Family time does not restrict you to just spend time with your immediate family. Cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents are also a part of family time. Introduce everyone and their position in the family. This will instil a sense of respect in your child.

Involve Kids:

Involve kids in your weekly errands. Teach them the importance of each errand or activity that you do. This will later prove to be beneficial as they will proactively ask if you need any help. The trick is to make it seem like an activity, giving hints and teaching them the importance of each errand. For example, take your kid along on your next weekly grocery run. Teach him why you buy certain foods. This will give your child a sense of accomplishment, thinking that he/she has helped mommy.

Discourage Spending Excessive Time in Front of the TV:

This might be a tough one to implement. As a parent you should absolutely discourage children to spend too much time watching TV. Encourage him/her to go outside and interact with other kids. Limit their time with other electronic appliances as well. In today’s age, many kids are falling prey to obesity; this can be accredited to lack of outdoor activities.

Encourage your kids to participate in healthy activities and then get them activity trackers so you could actually monitor their activities. You can buy them a Fitbit for this purpose. Fitbit Flex and Fitbit Blaze are the best fitbits for kids that can help them get started.

Be Responsible:

Responsibility starts at home. It’s foolish to expect that your kid will be responsible for anything from day one. Inculcating the habit of being responsible is crucial for any mother. Having a pet at home can lay the foundation for this. Make sure that your child takes care of your pet and is responsible for giving the pet his food on time and walking/petting him. If you are an anti-pet person, fret not. Handover something important to him/her, and enquire about it once every two-three days. This will instigate a sense of responsibility. Make sure you have an extra copy of it, just in case. This way your child will be more responsible for his schoolwork once he/she joins.

Let Him Speak:

During the course of inculcating good habits in your child, there may come a time where your child might feel reluctant, unwilling etc. As a mother, it would be easy to recognise this. Make it known to him that you are ready to hear him/her. Your child should be able to speak his/her heart out to you. However, there are some kids who would need a gentle nudge. This way, your child will open up to you and be willing to obey. Letting your child speak in his/her initial years will prove to be beneficial in the years to come.

These are the five easy and effective ways of inculcating healthy habits in your children. Hope you had fun reading as much as I had in writing this. I’m open to suggestions.

Meet Aradhana

“I am Aradhana. I am a passionate writer and love to write on topics like parenting, wellness, health and lifestyle. I believe good health is the key to success and happiness. I am a contributor for natural news, elephant journal, naturally savvy and MomJunction.com. Through my writings, I want to motivate people to develop healthy habits and adopt natural ways of living to achieve sound health.”~ Twitter ~ Google +

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